Dunelm wants coronavirus hit Brits to stay at home on Sunday
Dunelm is encouraging its customers to stay in and observe social distancing rules during the coronavirus outbreak with various Sunday themed garden and home product suggestions.
Earlier this week, the retailer closed its stores and online operation. The latter, however, is now up and running again, albeit with a coronavirus makeover.
“We’ve worked hard over the last few days to find ways of working which ensure that our colleagues can stay safe, whilst providing our customers with the home lines they need,” the retailer said in an online statement.
“In line with our understanding of government guidance, our stores remain closed. However, we are now confident that we are in a position to take orders online, in a way that keeps our team safe.”
“As such, we have carefully reintroduced home delivery for customers with help from some of our longest running suppliers, many of whom have worked with us from our early days on a market stall in Leicester. We have made selected items available online for delivery and will be adding more once we’re sure this works safely,” it added.
Further details here and here.
Digital milestone
Earlier this year, we reported that Dunelm’s strong start to FY2019/20 had continued into its second quarter, with the retailer remaining resilient in a challenging homewares market.
Group sales rose £18.8 million to £322.4 million during Q2 (and were up 6% to £585 million for the first half), which was all the more impressive given that Dunelm once again did not participate in Black Friday or additional pre-Christmas discounting.
This allowed it to increase its profitability, with gross margin improving by c110bps during the period. It expected profit before tax for the first half to be £83 million, compared with £70 million in the previous year.
Chief Executive Nick Wilkinson said the company’s new website was key to its success. “The launch of our new digital platform during the quarter marked an exciting milestone for us,” he commented.
“The transition to a modern, flexible, cloud-native platform has already improved our customer experience and will allow us to step change our retail innovation capabilities going forward. Our customers have responded well to the new website during Christmas and winter sale trading.”
“The launch of the new website allowed for increased capacity during the crucial Christmas trading period. It now also offers click and collect which will help drive footfall to stores,” commented Amy Higginbotham, Retail Analyst at GlobalData.
“Dunelm continues to expand its exclusive online range and is on track to add 6,000 new online-only products to its proposition this year. It plans to introduce its new Mindful Home collection in spring 2020 and this will allow it to capitalise on the increasing importance of health and wellness among homewares shoppers.”
